U.S. Postal Service Alcohol Delivery Idea Criticized By Merchants

(HuffingtonPost) - Oh, the beer run. That time-honored tradition of hopping in the car and heading to the local liquor establishment to replenish your supply of alcohol. Could it soon be a thing of the past? 

It just might, at least that is what U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe is hoping for. He recently pitched the idea of allowing the U.S. Postal Service to deliver beer, wine and spirits to your doorstep. Donahoe claims the deliveries could raise as much as $50 million a year for the cash-strapped agency. 

"There's a lot of money to be made in shipping beer, wine and spirits," Donahoe told the Associated Press. "We'd like to be in that business."

Sure, the Postal Service would love to be in that business, especially since the agency reported on Friday a net loss for the third quarter of $740 million. But vinters and brewers aren't so sure how great it will be for their bottom lines. A range of challenges, from the extra manpower needed to pack up and ship alcohol to state liquor law restrictions on sales, have liquor proprietors less than bubbly about Donahoe's proposal.